Ajax breathes new life into web applications by transparently communicating and manipulating data in conjunction with a server-based technology. Of all the server-based technologies capable of working in conjunction with Ajax, perhaps none are more suitable than PHP, the world's most popular scripting language.

Beginning Ajax with PHP: From Novice to Professional is the first book to introduce how these two popular technologies can work together to create next-generation applications. Author Lee Babin covers what you commonly encounter in daily web application development tasks, and shows you how to build PHP/Ajax-enabled solutions for forms validation, file upload monitoring, database-driven information display and manipulation, web services, Google Maps integration, and more.

You'll also be introduced to other key topics like conquering cross-platform issues, countering potential security holes, and testing and debugging JavaScript with efficiency. All examples are based on real-world scenarios, so you'll be able to apply what you learn to your own development situations.

Lee Babin is a programmer based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where he serves as the chief programmer for an innovative development firm duly named The Code Shoppe. He has been developing complex web driven applications since his graduation from DeVry University in early 2002 and has since worked on over 50 custom websites and online applications. Lee is married to a beautiful woman by the name of Dianne, who supports him in his rather full yet rewarding work schedule. He enjoys video games, working out, martial arts, and traveling, and can usually be found working online on one of his many fun web projects at any given time. While Lee has experience in a multitude of web programming languages, his preference has always been PHP. With the release of PHP 5, many of his wishes have been fulfilled.

"Within the hype of the Web 2.0 movement, Ajax is seen as a star technology. … The book is well organized, and the author’s writing is fairly easy to follow. … For Ajax to work, the Web application user must be using a device capable of processing JavaScript, and JavaScript processing must be enabled. … This book can help someone who wants to get a basic understanding of Ajax and PHP." (Will Wallace, ACM Computing Reviews, Vol. 49 (5), May, 2008)